A Challenge Unlike Any Other
by Fusiko
Summary: What's Ash to do? Pokemon he can handle, but this feeling? That's a whole nother story. Hopefully Brock, May and Max can give him the push start he needs. [AshxMisty]
1. Chapter 1: Hidden Feelings

Yay for fic #3! So this one's a tad longer than my last two. Hope you all enjoy. Again characters not mine.

Training pokemon was, although not exactly simple nor easy, it was something Ash could handle. It was something he had been doing since he first received pikachu at age 10. Training, battling and capturing. Slowly he attained mainly pokemon and friends on his journey to becoming the greatest pokemon master. All the memories that came along with them were all very important to him as well. After all, he had learned a lot with every experience, but it seemed there was one thing he hadn't mastered yet. The one thing that had been occupying his mind for the past year.

"Ash are you listening to me?" Ash jumped at the sound of May's voice.

"Huh? Oh sorry May, I seemed to have spaced out." May huffed annoyed that she had to now repeat her entire story for the third time.

"That's alright, but be sure to listen this time." Ash nodded, sitting down right where he stood staring intently at his friend. Unnerved by his intense stare, May took a step back. "Ash stop looking at me like that." Looking apologetic, he sat up.

"Sorry." He laughed rubbing the back of his head. "I'm just making sure I pay attention this time." May, understanding crouched down in front of the young teen. She looked at him noticing nothing wrong with him. She felt his forehead, nodding to herself. Leaning in she narrowed her eyes, finding something suspicious with the whole matter.

"You don't seem sick, so you must be hiding something." Ash gulped backing away from the girl.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean you Ash Ketchum, are keeping a secret." He jumped to his feet in immediate defense.

"Secret! No I'm not!" May slowly rose to her feet waving her index finger at him.

"Oh really? Then why don't you explain to me why you've been spacing out?"

"No reason really..." His voice trailed as he tried to think of a reason. "I've just been...uh...been thinking of a new battle strategy! Yeah!" May's brow inclined with full disbelief.

"Battle strategy?"

"Yeah, for my training!" She stared at him for the longest time before shrugging.

"Ok then. Good luck with that. I'm going to see how Max and Brock are doing. They've been done a while."

"Oh yeah they were supposedly going to get some plant Brock said the pokemon would like."

"Yeah I guess it also helps them get stronger." Ash laughed, clenching his right fist before him enthusiastically.

"Well my pokemon are already strong. Thanks to my great training." May waved him off.

"Yeah that may be, but it's also thanks to Brock's great pokefood." To this Ash had to agree with.

"That's true; Brock makes a great pokemon breeder."

"Yeah."

"Well thank you." Both teens turned to find Brock and Max returning with a basket full of herbs.

"Oh you're back."

"Yeah, we found a bunch, so now we're all set." Max stated proudly. Making his way to their campsite, Brock placed some wood into the fire pit.

"Hey Ash can you call Cyndaquil out?"

"Alright Cyndaquil show your stuff." Calling out the faithful pokemon, soon the wood was lit. "Good job Cyndaquil."

"Thanks Ash, now I can prepare the pokemon's food."

"Great! I bet they must be hungry by now. I know I'm starved." Pikachu agreed with a single nod.

"It should be done in a bit. So we should be good." Brock looked up at the sky. "We should just stay here for the night. Tomorrow we'll be in Cerulean City." Ash froze having momentarily forgotten that little fact.

"Right, Cerulean." He phased out for a couple of seconds before snapping himself out of it. "Come on Pikachu let's train while we wait." Walking away from the others, Pikachu followed next to Ash to the clearing. May took the opportunity to scoot over to Brock so she could whisper to him.

"Hey Brock, doesn't Ash seem to be acting strange?" Brock nodded, stirring a few of the collected herbs into the boiling water.

"Yeah he is." Watching as he stirred the water, she couldn't seem to take her eyes off it, the task being quite mesmerizing. Overhearing them and being completely clueless to the whole ordeal piped in his opinion.

"He seems the same to me."

"Well it takes someone with exceptional observational skills to notice these things." May replied smugly. Max laughed, finding his sister's comment more amusing than she would have liked.

"Well I guess that discounts you sister dear." May's eye twitched but she chose to ignore him.

"I know he's hiding something."

"It would seem so." Brock muttered in agreement.

"So what exactly has he been doing that's so strange?" Max inquired not wanting to be left out.

"Let's see, well he's been sighing a lot lately."

"Ok what else?"

"Well, um, he's been spacing out a lot too." She added counting off each item with her fingers. "Oh and he seems to be always thinking about something."

"Thinking?" Max asked unsure he had heard his sister correctly. "Right May, because no one thinks right?" He finished sarcastically.

"No! I mean he'll seem to be thinking about the same thing for hours everyday. Sometimes he gets really frustrated almost as if he has a really hard problem but can't seem to solve it." Brock placed his finger under his chin, rubbing it gently.

"It seems to me." Both siblings leaned in with interest. "There's only one thing that it could be."

"Yeah and what's that?" The younger boy inquired.

"Yeah Brock, what is it?" Remaining silent for added effect, he calmly stated his conclusion.

"He's in love." The siblings sat there, not a sound uttered, blinking a few times as it allowing what Brock has uttered to sink in fully. In a split second, May was on her feet, both hands clenched tightly together by her chest, her eyes sparkling with enthusiasm.

"He's in love!" She squealed excitedly. At the high-pitched exclamation, Ash turned around questioningly at the girl. Throwing a small pebble at his sister, May scowled before coming to realize what she had just yelled aloud.

"Hahahaha, I mean good for you Brock!" Patting Brock's shoulder, she kept laughing rather weakly sitting down rapidly hoping Ash wouldn't suspect the truth of her earlier announcement. Shaking his head, Ash returned to his training.

"Great going May." Max hissed. Smiling sheepishly, she scratched her forehead slightly.

"Sorry, I got excited."

"You don't say." Ignoring the two, Brock continued to stir the now greenish looking soup. Once, then twice more he removed the spoon, taking a taste of the odd concoction he had made. Satisfied, he removed the pot and replaced it with another to prepare their lunch.

"Now if you ask me, and I'm pretty confident when it comes to love."

"You can say that again." Both May and Max mumbled simultaneously to themselves.

"I think the object of his affection lies in our current destination."

"Ok so you mean the girl's nearby?" Max asked trying to piece it all together. May being a bit slower, took a while before she understood what her brother was insinuating.

"Wait what?"

"We'll you're the only girl here!" Max stated. This made her cheeks burn a bright red, wringing her hands nervously.

"But, I mean, it's just that..."

"That's not who I'm talking about." Brock interrupted before May could continue her incoherent mumbling.

"Oh I knew that." The now embarrassed girl said, trying to laugh it off. Now Max was puzzled. It if wasn't his sister, then who?

"Who else has Ash known then? It has to be someone he's known for a while right. Like a really good friend." As if a light went on in their minds, they looked at each other.

"Misty."

"Exactly." Brock said glad they were catching on.

"Oh that makes sense. You guys traveled together for a really long time didn't you, Brock."

"Yeah we did. If it wasn't for her having to go back to fulfill her duties as a gym leader I'm sure Misty would still be traveling with us."

"Yeah that's true." May added already coming up with a plan.

"Oh no, I know that look."

"What?"

"You're going to get involved aren't you May." Max asked afraid of what his sister was probably already scheming to do.

"Of course I am. We have to help them get together. Isn't that right Brock?"

"Well, I don't know. I guess..."

"See, so I say tomorrow when we arrive we..." She leaned in whispering her already rapidly developed plan to the other two now accomplices. Ash was wrapping up his training, his stomach growling beginning to interfere with any serious battling. Calling his pokemon to end it for the day, they all headed back towards the camp.

"Let's see if Brock's got lunch ready." Expecting to find Brock huddled over the fire, making lunch as he always did; his curiosity was aroused when he saw not only the mentioned pokemon breeder but May and Max huddled closely with him. Usually May would have begun working on her new act while Max supervised. Now wondering what they were doing, he headed over to them, hearing their whispering but unable to make out anything coherent. "What are you guys talking about?" Three heads jerked up, their bodies stiff and the air around them thick with guilt.

"Nothing!" All three responded. Ash looked at them a little oddly but thought nothing of it.

"O...k." May rose first, laughing nervously.

"Right, well Brock you seem to be doing fine now. So just call me when lunch is ready." Marching of stiffly, she left them behind. Max unable to think of any sort of excuse, just called after her, muttering about going to help her. Ash still finding their behavior a little strange couldn't put it together with anything else. He was as unsuspecting as ever.

"I guess hunger really does make you act strange." The unobservant trainer said taking a seat next to Brock.

"Which is exactly why I'm making lunch." In Brock's mind, he was utterly relieved that Ash was rather slow when it came to these sorts of things. Now he just wondered how he'd handle the next day.


	2. Chapter 2: Mission Accomplished

"Yay, finally we're here! Now I can sleep on a bed!" May bellowed happily, which earned a few looks from passerbyers. Ash more quiet than usual was jittered fully inside. Such an anxiousness arose in him that he could barely breathe. It was quite obvious now to the others what was unnerving him but they played oblivious, keeping their eyes on their goal, the Cerulean City Gym. "I can't wait to see Misty." The name made Ash twitch. "I wonder how she's been doing at the gym."

"I'm sure she'd holding up just fine. She's a great water pokemon trainer. Isn't that right Ash." He jumped at the question.

"Huh! Oh…uh yeah. Just awesome." Max had to turn away to keep from snickering aloud. The subtle teasing already proving too much for the heartsick lad.

"Well I can't wait to see all the pokemon. Maybe I'll challenge her to a match." May smirked, poking her brother repeatedly.

"Sure and then lose. Misty's no amateur little brother and you've barely begun your training. She'll cream you."

"Will not!"

"Will too!"

"Will not!"

"Will too!"

"Will No…"

"We're here." Brock interrupted bringing a temporary peace over the group. Setting their argument aside, their plan resurfacing in their minds. Entering the famed gym, they headed towards its large pool, were they expected to find the young gym leader.

"Good job Corsula!" Misty's clear voice boomed inside the gym.

"Looks like she's here alright." Ash gulped feeling his feet growing heavy. _Why am I so nervous? I can handle this. No biggie. _Taking a deep breath he stiffly marched inside, looking rather awkward. Pikachu was going to follow him, but May quickly snatched him up in her arms.

"Not this time Pikachu." Giggling, she retreated with the mischievous group, running out of the gym where they could spy on the pair from one of the windows.

"Think he'll be alright?" Max asked, peeking through the window on his tiptoes.

"Sure." May responded with a hint of doubt in her voice.

"Shhh, he's making his move." The three focused their attention inside. Pikachu still in May's arms gazed at the three confused before looking inside to figure out what they were all doing. Misty having spotted Ash now, smiled at him as she jumped down from the stand she was on. She had been expecting Tracey to show up soon but she was quite surprised to see Ash instead. Although it was a surprised, she was happy with.

"Ash! I didn't expect you back so soon." Ash gulped once again.

"Y-yeah. We got here rather f-fast." He stuttered which led him to blush. Misty a little puzzled was unsure what to make of it. _He seems a kind of nervous. I wonder why?_ Deciding to ignore it, she looked around for the others.

"Did you come back alone?" Ash furrowed his brows in question.

"No, Brock and…" He glanced back to find himself alone. "Where did they go?" Misty shrugged.

"Maybe they had things to do."

"I guess, though they didn't mention anything yesterday." Turning back, he rubbed his head, still a little confused, his gaze locking with hers causing his face to flush. A surge of courage welling up inside of him, he lowered his arm, shuffling a little trying to find the words, to express the source of his pounding heart. "Uh Misty." He began, now having her full attention.

"Yeah."

"Well actually there's something I want to tell you."

"Ok." Now she could pick something up, the air suddenly tense. Secretly she hoped he would say what she had waited for him to say to her years before. She never let on her feelings, at first refusing to acknowledge them. How could she? The only reason she began traveling with him was to regain her damaged bike. However, that she'll admit, she acquired a very deep friendship, which in turn blossomed into affection. It was that which she kept silent. After all the young boy's mind was filled with other things at the time. Training, winning, proving himself to Gary and the world. There was no room in his simple driven mind for love.

"I uh…I…li…" A popping sound was heard, as a familiar pokemon appeared, whose entrance timings had yet to improve.

"Psy." Whether it was due to the closeness in which he appeared, or from the mere surprise, the interruption caused, Ash lost his footing, staggering backwards trying to balance himself as best he could but failing as he fell into the pool with a dramatic splash. Three groans, muffled by the glass, as they watched the disaster unfolding. Misty unsure of what to do was utterly annoyed with psyduck, having once again ruined another moment.

"Psyduck!" She yelled as Ash resurfaced feeling completely humiliated, swam towards the pool's edge. Misty ran over to help him out. "You ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." He muttered, not wanting to look the girl in the eyes.

"Let me get you a towel." She said rising to her feet.

"That's alright. I think I just should go."

"Wha? But you're all wet."

"The sun will dry me out."

"You sure?"

"Yeah." Gloomily he headed for the exit, his hopes drenched and sunken.

"Wait Ash you never finished telling me…"

"It wasn't anything important." Not wanting to stay within those walls any longer, unable to stand the humiliation, he left silently, head hanging low. Feeling heavy hearted, Misty watched him go, whispering to herself.

"It sounded important to me." Muffled cries were heard behind the disappointed gym leader. Glancing back, she stood surprised, mouth agape. There she saw Brock, May, Max and Pikachu waving frantically at her. _So that's where they went. They were spying on us._Her face reddened. _They were spying on us!_

A tap on the glass brought her attention back. Arms were waving wildly, their mouths rapidly moving, but it was all muffled. " What are you guys saying? I can't understand you." The group at each other spoke a few words amongst themselves and nodded having come to some sort of agreement. Three heads turned and pointed to Pikachu. Misty was at a loss. "Pikachu?" They pointed to Pikachu once again and then pointed to Max. "Ok now I'm lost." She shook her head not understanding what they were trying to tell her.

"It's not working!" Max cried at Misty shaking her head.

"Maybe we should just yell out his name." May suggested having run out of ideas.

"It's worth a shot." Brock replied. "On three then. One, Two, Three!" All three with the help from Pikachu yelled the boy's name as loud as they could. Misty understood this, even though it was slightly stifled, it was clear enough for her to hear.

_Ash!_ She looked back at the door, it finally making sense to her. Without wasting another second, she turned and ran. She ran as quickly as she could out of the gym, frantically looking around for the young trainer. She hoped he hadn't gotten too far. _Where is he?_ Her eyes darted around the area when a few still visible footsteps caught her eye. She followed them thankful now that he had fallen in the pool. She picked up her pace now anxious, needed to find him. _There he is! _A couple feet ahead of her, walking slowly, almost forcing every foot forward. His head was hung low, hands limply hanging by his sides. She called out his name, stopping only inches from him. At the sound of her voice, he turned to look at her, surprised to find her there.

"Misty."

"I'm glad I finally caught up to you."

"Why are you here?"

"You didn't finish."

"Oh, well it was nothing important." He started to turn his back to her, but she reached for his arm, the contact stopping him. His eyes locking with hers, seeing the need to know reflecting in them. "I…" Her hand still held his arm, an almost gentle reassurance from him to go on. "I…uh…" The intensity in her gaze was unnerving him. He couldn't do it, he couldn't say it. "Forget it." Ash turned away trying to break away from the girl's grasp, but Misty was firm. She wasn't going to let him go.

"Ash!" He jerked, unable to say anything to her. She tugged his arm gently, slowly making him face her. He didn't want to look at her, he couldn't. How could he when he wasn't able to tell her how he felt? "Ash." Her voice filled with worry and need. He closed his eyes trying to think of what to do, how to handle it. "Ash?" He opened them, not thinking, just acting. He was never known for his words, he just acted. In a split second, he turned around and kissed her. A quick peck, and then nothing. Misty's eyes widened not having expected that at all. Ash's face reddened greatly, speechless and embarrassed from his impulsive action.

_She's going to kill me. She's going to hate me! Why did do that? _That female gym leader slowly smiled, leaning she pressed her lips gently against his cheek. A confused look crossing his now very flushed face. Not the reaction he had expected from her, as she laughed at his expression. Feeling overjoyed, she threw her arms around him, hugging him tightly. Lost, he was completely lost, but he wasn't going to complain. He inched his arms around her. Who needed words? This was enough.

"Oh they're so cute!" May squealed. Tears were streaming down Brock's cheeks.

"That's just beautiful." He sniffled loudly, rubbing his eyes free of the overflowing tears. Max rolled his eyes, but smiled.

"Way to go Ash." Pikachu voiced his joy as well. All four of them well hidden behind the nearby bush watching the young couple happily in each other's arms.


End file.
